WASHINGTON-- D.C.'s fire department is downplaying an incident in which an Emergency Medical Technician was cut by a fire lieutenant as 'negligent horseplay'. But the victim -- who received ten stitches -- doesn't think so.

"Mr. McLaughlin doesn't appear to believe it was horseplay," said Kenneth Lyons, the head of the ambulance union. The incident unfolded about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Engine 5, on Dent Place NW. According to a news release, the two on-duty employees were "playing around". According to Lyons, the firefighter, Lt. Lawrence Clarke, started swinging a knife at EMT Ed McLaughlin without provocation.